You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever

I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them

A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience

Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum. I think that I think, therefore I think that I am

A cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity

What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expect generally happens

Dreams set the direction, courage charts the course.

How to embed change in teams? http://ping.fm/5kKtm

How to embed change in teams?

Team & Self motivation is fundamentally about attitudes (emotions) stimulated by thought patterns based on beliefs.

(Psychology is a word that scares many off, but beliefs, thoughts and feelings are fundamentally the building blocks of people performance when exposed to a perceived 'instruction' [challenge] to change – e.g. in a lean transformation environment).

For decades the application of tools and techniques in change environments has omitted to consider the deeper aspects in regards to this challenge for people to change, seeing many change initiatives fall over in the long term as the comfort zones initially protected by resistance are returned to, in attitude and behaviour (irrespective of tools & skills).

The western world of tools application has historically omitted the lessons from the east that witnessed the original advocates of TPS in the west describe a ‘philosophy’, i.e. the Japanese / Chinese / Western minds that collaborated in the form of Shingo, Ohno and Deming overtly included the people system aspect that the western world dropped on induction (1973 oil crisis).

The philosophical and psychological nature as combined with the logical 'methods' can be seen in Demings 8th point 'Drive out fear', but as i'm sure anyone trained in 'Lean' could testify, this aspect of change in relation to the 'People system' was ignored in preference for the mistranslation of Kaizen as CI (continuous Improvement) and the pursuit of tools in application alone, has been mainstream ever since.

The irony is that the tools from the Lean toolbox (all included - before the market fragmented into TOC and Six Sigma) actually embody solutions to such philosophical and psychological challenges encountered when dealing with people in relationship to a need to change.

When the mechanics behind the ‘people system’ is explained in detail, those being asked to employ the tools in their approach to life and work can appreciate the benefit in it for them (WIIFM - what's in it for me) and the same 'call to action' can be provoked across all organisational cultural layers. The same Call as is provided for those who approve the application of lean at the top of the organisation, based on projected and largely assumed performance stats (i.e. Forecast ROI premised on process change only).

When such principles are explained to the leaders of an organisation, it also elicits a call to action in regards the concept of 'Leading by example' and that ever elusive Toyota paradigm ‘Letting go’, i.e. controlling with a depth of psychological awareness rather than by diktat, based on inaccurate data from systems premised on assumption (ERP / MIS etc.).

Changing belief (about Lean as the case in point) such that one can elicit different behaviours is the bedrock of change as it works at a sub-conscious level. This is the area of self that holds automatic defence mechanisms etc. and it is such mechanisms that determine how people react (behave) and ..thus how they perform at work, …thus how teams perform and ultimately how the organisation performs.

Such belief is also at root of how sustainable that performance is, i.e. if people are looking to return to where they perceive comfort, ‘new’ (and philosophically ‘Bad’) can still be perceived even where ‘methods’ have been in place for years; this occurs where individuals fundamentally fail to ‘believe’ that the method is (philosophically) ‘Good’ – they will continue to work under duress of what they perceive to be ‘new’ and say nothing, as the system from within which they exist provokes key fear triggers (fear of failure or rejection relevant to judgement by metrics premised on assumption and inaccurate data), bringing us back full circle to psychology and systems in relationship with each other. 

Simplistically we have to consider People + Process, not just process relative to tools, techniques and skills training, with the vain hope that it will influence people to change their world constructs at a neural level.

Considering this, the first belief to change is why and how the tools work for people (at a deeper level – not just in relation to the logical satisfaction of fiscal measures), once that is established, strategy and tools can be implemented sustainably.

Tools and techniques only appeal to the logical (conscious) mind - and as anyone who has ever tried to diet will tell you, it takes a lot more than someone else telling your conscious mind that you need to change, to actually alter deeply imprinted habituated activities (high fat content food stuffs intake + too low a level of exercise etc.), such habits are formed over many many years.

If you want your lean efforts to be sustained remember what Mr Ohno said,

 "It was not enough to chase out the cost accountants from the plants. The problem was to chase cost accounting from my people's minds"

Start with 'minds' and behaviours will follow - the Western approach to tools implementation unfortunately satisfies much of what is required for systems and logic (ROI) but fails to address what is required in regards to change for "the people system" - a system no less important (actually more important) than 'financial management', quality management', 'performance management' or process and procedure.

Please do have a look at our site and if you'd like to discuss further, please do feel free to make contact.

Kind regards

David

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken

Change - some basic laws

I always think back to my days in high school physics and the basic laws - I realised they also apply to people, e.g. "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction", i.e. if you push people, they'll push back, and, as said in many quarters, give and you'll be given to (a counterintuitive model in todays control culture).


What we try to do is make our approach a 'Pull system for people' - understanding how you get the best from others as a leader, removes the barriers to maximising performance across the organisation - we've used root cause analysis (5Y's / 5W1H) for the 'People system' .... the only system seemingly ignored in the market of change, yet the most powerful system of all when it comes to maximising profits from efforts expended.


We provide leaders the knowledge required to understand the 'people system' in context to other systems, Performance management, quality management, financial management, etc. and in so doing we highlight which aspects of these 'inert' systems detrimentally impact on people in relationship with these 'standard systems' - we explain (in detail) how we (in business) unconsciously provoke a systematic unconscious opposition to change - once you understand this, you can consciously choose to change it ...

Examine what is said, not who speaks.

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare

Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it

For every complex problem, there is a simple solution... and it is always wrong

Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them

Welcome what you can’t avoid

Why did the psychiatrist finally give up on trying to help the Six Sigma Black Belts?........
They kept regressing

An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support

Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are

Don’t let yesterday take up to much of today

Wise people think all they say; fools say all they think.

Wise people think all they say; fools say all they think.

Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe. Dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers

Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups

Experience is the name that everyone gives to their mistakes